1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle locking apparatus, and more particularly, to a vehicle locking apparatus which is used especially for a keyless engine starting system and which is not unlocked by improper unlocking operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a four-wheel automobile, there is a known keyless engine starting system designed such that a person having a remote key (e.g., a card key) approaches his or her locked vehicle and enters a predetermined approving area, a door of the vehicle is unlocked and its engine can be started. According to this keyless entry system, if the person having the card key moves away from the vehicle, the door is locked and the engine cannot start. The keyless entry system is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H10-317754 for example.
As the keyless entry system, in order to prevent erroneous control of the system or to reduce the a battery consumption, there is a known system having a normal mode for sending a remote control signal to the vehicle and an output stop mode for stopping the output of the control signal (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-64918).
In the keyless engine starting system, there is a possibility that a locked state of an engine starting switch is improperly unlocked without using a proper remote key. That is, since the engine starting switch is provided with a knob so that the switch can be turned, there is a possibility that the locked state is improperly unlocked by forcibly turning the knob using a tool.